Little Girl Lost
by SacredNagChampa
Summary: Alex Russo doesn’t believe in fairytales. Not since she was seven years old and her brother told her there was so no such thing and all those stories she cherished were make believe. Justin/Alex
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Fauna__: She's in love!  
__Merryweather__: Oh, no!  
__Flora__: This is terrible!  
__Princess Aurora__: Why? After all, I am sixteen._

**Sleeping Beauty**

Prologue

Alex Russo doesn't believe in fairytales. Not since she was seven years old and her brother told her there was so no such thing and all those stories she cherished were make believe.

But if she did she'd rather like to believe in one like this:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl, with long dark locks, that she flipped to catch the boys attention and warm brown eyes that caught the attention for her. She wasn't the nicest girl, but she was pretty and witty, and she knew when she was wrong and she always tried to fix her problems.

And this beautiful girl, like all the others in fairytales before her, had a knight in shining armor. Only hers was kind of dorky and sometimes he talked too much about things she didn't understand. But he had amazing eyes and a smirk that made her melt. And he was always there when her problems needed fixing.

But this isn't a fairytale; those aren't real, like Justin told her years and years ago. She knows this now, like she wasn't able to admit then.

After all, how can they been real when the princess always gets the knight in shining armor and her knight is her brother?


	2. Chapter I: When I Think About You

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Cinderella__: Oh, that clock! Old killjoy. I hear you. "Come on, get up," you say, "Time to start another day." Even he orders me around. Well, there's one thing. They can't order me to stop dreaming._

**Cinderella **

Chapter One: When I Think About You

Mornings start like this: the alarm blares music that she loves (but everyone else in the house hates) and she hits snooze. She manages to fall asleep for nine minutes, and it goes off again. So she hits snooze. This happens two more times and finally, Alex Russo emerges from bed.

When she gets out of bed, she turns her radio up louder and dances around to whatever tune it may be playing. Today's choice is a cover of _I Touch Myself_. Her mom used to listen to often when she was younger, until Max asked one day what the song was about. Her mom quickly shut the radio off, said _nothing_ and they didn't talk about it. Alex was curious herself and she asked an older kid on the sub one day. When she found out it only made her love the song more. The bonus to playing this song at full blast at six thirty in the morning is that it annoys the crap out of Justin (something she's been quite good at and something she's strived for the majority of her life.

"ALEX!" He yells moments later, banging on her door, "Turn it down!"

She smirks to herself and reaches for another top in closet, she tries it on, looks in the mirror, studies her reflection and seconds later takes it off and reaches for another shirt.

"Alex!" He tries again. Her smile grows as his tone becomes more and more exasperated. "Please!"

Finally, the song ends and Justin's given up, obviously heading downstairs, away from the cacophony in his sister's room.

*****

"Mom, you've got to talk to her. I can't take much more of that _nonsense_ she listens to," Justin is whining to their mother when she comes downstairs.

"Oh, get it over, loser," she sighs and rolls her eyes, "you're just jealous that I listen to better music than you. _Tears of Blood_? Really, Justin?"

He shoots a glare in her direction and continues to dip his tea bag into his mug. He mumbles something unintelligent under his breath. Alex shrugs it off and pours a bowl of cereal before sitting next to him at the bar.

"What were you listening to Alex?" Her mother questions once she and Justin stop glaring at each other and are quietly eating their breakfast.

"_I Touch Myself_." She tells her mom.

Theresa grins and claps her hands together excitedly, "Ooh! I love that song!"And she begins to sing, "I don't want anybody else, when I think about you I touch myself. . ." She trails off when Justin stares at her incredulously, shakes his head and leaves the loft. Theresa shrugs and picks up a sponge, wiping off jam on the counter (a product of Max, Alex is sure), "It's a good song," she defends to Alex.

Alex just grins in response. She finishes her cereal and places the empty bowl in the sink. "Bye mom," she says, placing a kiss on her mother's cheek.

"Love you, Alex," her mom replies, still engrossed in her task of cleaning the kitchen and the mess her children just made in it. "Apologize to Justin on your way to school, please."

"Ugh, whatever," she groans, putting her jacket on. (The cute plaid one she talked her mother into a few weeks before.)

"Alex," her mother starts in a warning tone.

"Fine, mom, I'll apologize."

On her way down to the Sub Station she passes her father on the steps, hugs him good bye and rushes down the street to where her brothers are.

*****

Justin gives her the cold shoulder most of the ride to school, he sits next to her begrudgingly, but when an older woman gets on, he gives up his seat with a smile and seems to lose some of his anger (when he does good deeds like that, he's always happy, she doesn't understand that, but hey, that's Justin).

She smiles at him when he glances down at her and the corners of his mouth hesitantly rise to return the gesture.

She bumps him with her hip when they're exiting the subway and walking to school, a few seconds later he playfully jabs her side with his elbow and they seem to be back to normal, he finally accepting her silent apology she made moments before.

*****

Harper scares the crap out of her when she's at her locker. "Oh god," she lets out, hand over her heart, "Harper you scared me." She takes in the ensemble her friend is wearing today and she tries (and fails) not to make a disgusted face, "Harper," she whines, clearly annoyed with her friend's choice, "Didn't we have this talk freshmen year?"

"What about?" Harper asks voice cheery and grin on her face.

"About dressing up as an _actual_ item of food." Alex replies slowly, hoping to get the message across.

"That I shouldn't?"

Alex nods, "Bingo. I mean, you're pushing it with the plum headbands already."

"Those were grapes, Alex," Harper defends, her face falling and she looks a little hurt. _Whatever, _Alex thinks, _it's for her own good._

"Whatever, same difference, they both become raisins."

"Actually Alex, only grapes do, you see, plums become—"

Alex cuts her off with the wave of her hand, "Whatever, Harper. Look, you can't wear a pumpkin suit, costume, or what have you, to school."

"But it's October."

Alex raises her eyes skyward and blows the hair away from her face, "It's October 15, Harper. Halloween isn't until the end of the month."

"I'm just," she starts, but Alex slams her locker shut and drags Harper to the nearest bathroom.

*****

"I did see Harper dressed as a pumpkin earlier, right?" Justin asks from behind her between third and fourth period.

Alex groans and puts her hand against her forehead, "Ugh, I was hoping that no one saw that."

Justin chuckles, "Sorry. So she really was?"

"Yes," Alex replies, "I don't know about her sometimes."

Justin laughs again and rubs her shoulder gently before he leaves.

Alex stares down at her shoulder with a furrowed brow, her skin tingles there and she's pretty sure if she pulls her shirtsleeve down she'd see goose bumps there. "Huh," she whisper to herself in the hall, "well, that was weird." And she tries to brush it off.

_Tries._


	3. Chapter II: Not Like Crazy, “Haha”

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Snow White__: Once there was a Princess.  
__Doc__: Was this princess you?  
__Snow White__: And she fell in love.  
__Sneezy__: Was it hard to do?  
__Snow White__: It was very easy/anyone could see/that the Prince was charming/the only one for me.  
__Doc__: Was he strong and handsome?  
__Sneezy__: Was he big and tall?  
__Snow White__: There's nobody like him/anywhere at all.  
__Bashful__: Did he say he loved ya?  
__Happy__: Did he steal a kiss?  
__Snow White__: He was so romantic/I could not resist._

**Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs **

Chapter Two: Not Like Crazy, "Haha", I Mean, Crazy Crazy Insane

So, school, was, really effin' strange. The rest of the day was a blur and she paid even less attention than she normally does. Honestly, she doesn't even remember what they did in art, and that's her best subject. Harper didn't seem to notice. She ate steadily during lunch and managed to spend most of the twenty seven minute lunch period talking about Justin.

Alex nodded at what she assumes were the right moments, Harper usually very in tune about that sort of thing and usually bites Alex's head off when she catches her not paying attention. (Harper still hasn't quite figured out that Alex is phenomenal at ignoring people, she's ignored Justin most of her life.) Ugh, Justin.

Throughout the day she caught herself checking for her brother in the halls. How screwed up is that? Honestly, the only reason she willingly attends school is because it gets her away from Justin for the majority of the day, hence, her summer days spent at Harper's, even if her parents do argue constantly and her grandma is a little eccentric.

By the end of the day, she's tired, confused, frustrated and maybe a little hungry (she's really hoping her mom baked some cookies, she could really go for some chocolate chips right now, hell, any form of chocolate.) She ignores Justin on the train and feels a little worse than usual when she catches the hurt in his expression (whatever, he'll get over it, she has a problem here, one that she definitely can't go to him about.) Max somehow catches onto her mood, too (really? Where did everyone come up with this idea that Max is dumb? He's probably one of the most intuitive (albeit, spacey) kids she's met, come on, he's fourteen, you don't ask fourteen year old boys for much) and he cracks some lame jokes on the ride home, earning a small grin and a light chuckle from Alex.

Her mom is like the female version of baby Jesus and when Alex enters the loft (throwing her bag on the floor and slamming the door behind her) she smells cookies. There's a plate of fresh sugar cookies (whatever, she just needs sugar,) on the counter. She grabs a couple, pours a class of milk and heads up to her room.

Justin tries to get her attention (damn, he's really _fast_ sometimes) but she shuts her door without turning to look at him and turns her iPod on. She finds her angry playlist (miscellaneous hip-hop and punk music) and turns the volume up as loud as she can.

She finishes her cookies in a few minutes, rest her empty glass on her night stand and heads to her easel. It's rare for Alex Russo to be calm and concentrated (maybe that's part of her problem, she has too much time to think, and maybe she should do more; ha, like that will happen) and painting (drawing, sculpting, throwing clay on a wheel, whatever) seems to help. A lot. So for the next two hours she gets her hands dirty (and maybe her cheek) and doesn't think about anything other than putting the image in her head on the canvas.

*****

"Oh my god," Alex moans happily as she settles into her chair at the dinner table (she takes Max seat, shooting him a glare when he begins to protest,) "breakfast for dinner."

Theresa smiles at her daughter and sets the final plate of food on the table. "Justin said you were having a bad day, I'm only trying to help my little girl."

"Oh," Alex mumbles and looks down at her hands that are resting in her lap. "Thanks, Justin." She finishes, refusing to meet his eyes. Dammit. Why does he have to do sweet things like that? Why can't he be a borderline sociopath like she is? (yes, she knows that that means, again, she's not as dumb as everyone thinks, she's an underachiever.)

"No, problem," he mutters back, and she can hear in his voice that he's still a little upset about her brush off earlier.

Alex and Justin remain quite throughout dinner (it's not that rare, the other Russos are aware of the complicated relationship between the two siblings) and Max fills the would be silence with chatter about what he and Alfred did during general science (Alex isn't sure what it is, she's half paying attention, and the majority of that attention is focused on the pancakes in front of her) but it's something that makes her mom gasps and her dad begin to huff indignantly, oh, it must be bad, that huffing is usually reserved for her.

"Maxamilian," their mom starts, in that mom tone, the pissed off one, with the barely contained anger seeping through every syllable.

Alex rushes to finish her meal and sees Justin doing the same, they both know what's about to happen and they're both hurrying to leave the room. She finishes before him, "I've got homework, dinner was amazing, mom. Bye!" She says quickly.

*****

After about fifteen minutes of staring at her Biology homework and still not being able to understand Mitosis (Mrs. Simon tries way too hard to make the class interesting and the end result is that her students are more confused than what they were to begin with)Alex slams her book shut and listens to the silence that surrounds her.

After a few minutes she hears Justin's voice, talking quietly to someone else. Alex realizes he's on the phone and she picks up her own handset, covers the mouthpiece and listens to what her brother has to talk about.

"You don't understand, Juliet, I always know why. Even if she doesn't say it out loud, I know what I've done."

Juliet sighs prettily on the other end, "I'm sure it's just Alex being petulant, you and I both know she is."

Justin breathes heavily through his mouth, his breath causing the phone to make a crinkling sound, "Juliet, don't, she's my sister. Don't talk about her like that."

"But you said it first—"

Justin huffs again, "Yeah, but she's _my _sister."

Alex's stomach clenches at the way he emphasis 'my'.

"Justin, I didn't it mean it like that."

Justin's quiet for a moment, "Yeah, I know. Look, I've got to go. I'll call you the same time tomorrow, okay?"

Juliet replies in a disappointed tone, obviously catching on to Justin's silent anger (Alex would be the first to know), "Okay, I love you."

Alex holds her breath for the reply she's sure to come (doesn't understand why it makes her physically sick) but it never comes, instead Justin hangs up the phone.

*****

Maybe today will be better. Everyone has days where they're just off, right? Perhaps she was just having one of those days, after all, it was a Thursday, and she hates Thursdays and the way they seem to endlessly drag on.

She finds an outfit that's super cute, a red and black plaid tunic top, with her favorite pair of skinny jeans and the midnight blue suede flats she finally bought a couple weeks before. She looks good, which usually puts her in a better mood (so what if she's a little vain? She's a sixteen year old girl).

She has a bounce in her step as she walks down the stairs but stops halfway down when she sees Justin looking all depressed as he eats his toast. She sighs to herself and finishes coming down the stairs. She brushes past him, pours a bowl of cereal and stands on the opposite side of the counter, opting to stand and eat today rather than sit next to her brother.

They're in the kitchen by themselves, a rare occurrence during a weekday, and there seems to be some sort of tension between them.

"I know you were listening last night," he mutters after a moment, briefly looking at her, "Why?"

She freezes, spoon halfway to her mouth. "I—I don't know." She says, that's weird, she can make an excuse up on the spot. "I'm sorry?" She says, the words sounding more like a question than an actual apology.

He shakes his head, "Whatever. Look, don't do it anymore, okay?"

She scrunches up her eyebrows, "Because it's rude?"

"Because I deserve to have secrets, too." He leaves the room after that, well, after washing off his plate. (He's really got to work on his dramatic exits.)

She stares at a spot on the counter until her mother yells her name from downstairs.

"Coming!" She yells and hurries off to school.

*****

"Alex!" Harper yells, waving her hand in her friends face, Alex blinks hurriedly when she sees something waving around in her face; she slaps Harper's hand away.

"God, Harper! We've talked about this. Stay out of my bubble."

"Well, sorry," Harper says mockingly, her eyes widening slightly, "I just want my friend's attention; I've only been talking to her expressionless face for ten minutes. And would you stop staring at your brother! He's going to know I'm talking about him!"

Alex rolls her eyes, "Harper, you're always talking about him. And I wasn't staring," Alex says defensively. "I'm distracted, okay? Things have been off at home."

Harper sighs, raises her eyes skyward and rests her folded arms on the table in front of her; she leans forward slightly and whispers, "Look, everyone knows you're mad at Justin."

Alex looks at her incredulously, "_Everyone?_"

"Okay, fine," Harper relents, "Max and me. He came to see me about it this morning."

Alex chokes on the milk she was drinking, "You and Max talk?"

Harper huffs, "You know, Max is a lot smarter than you all give him credit for. Look, just apologize to Justin. Talk to him, pull a prank on him, something, just get over whatever is wrong with you now."

The bell rings and Harper picks up her tray and leaves the cafeteria.

"I'm getting really tired of being blamed for this stuff," Alex mutters to herself, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "And I'm not sure I can 'get over' this."


	4. Chapter III: You’re All I See

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Thumbelina__: I wish I had wings.  
__Prince Cornelius__: Maybe someday you will._

**Thumbelina**

Chapter Three: You're All I See

It's not like she's mad at him, god. She wishes everyone would quit asking her about it. It started with Harper a week earlier at lunch, then Max questioned her when she got home, later followed by her mom and dad. Maybe she just didn't want to talk to him, okay? Or make fun of him, or prank him, was that too hard to believe? Well, okay, it _is _kind of hard to believe that in one week Alex Russo would stop teasing her brother.

It's one of the constants in her life, this back and forth thing she has with her brother. _Always_ has had with her brother. One of her first memories is her teasing him about the action figure he wanted, a toy he wanted so bad that he sat in the store and almost cried about it. He was six, almost seven and she was four.

It became normal after that. Picking on Justin, stealing stuff from his room, arguing with him about what was wrong and what was right (she knew the difference between right and wrong, sometimes doing the wrong thing was more fun) but they were always there for each other. He was always bailing her out of whatever situation she may have gotten into. It's just…something's different now.

She notices stuff about him now. Characteristics she's always known about, always ragged on him about, just, well, she used to be annoyed, _repelled_ by these things (maybe not all of them, because she'll admit it is nice to have a door held open for you) and now…

Now she finds herself _attracted_ to these traits.

How sick is that? Justin is her _brother_, they're related by _blood_, and it's wrong, and illegal, and she shouldn't want to kiss him, right?

Right.

She needs help. Some serious help. But the person she goes to for help is the cause of her problem. So she's stuck. And frustrated.

And she really wants her brother. _Back. _She wants her brother back, to talk to, to tease, and to hang out with.

But she's trapped. So she sits in her room when she's not at school and not working. She's actually studied the past few days. So, obviously, something is bothering her. Honestly, if she gets one more C on a paper there may be a call home.

Justin hasn't talked to her since that morning in the kitchen. He hasn't talked to anyone lately. So, maybe she should apologize for ignoring him? He's bothered by it, or so it seems. And she does _miss_ him. She's just afraid.

Afraid that he'll brush up against her and the area will burn for the rest of the day, she's afraid that his hot breathe will hit her ear as he leans in to say something to her and that her stomach will clench from the sensation. Basically, she's afraid that she will feel something she shouldn't.

So, maybe, the situation is okay for now. At least until she figures out how to fix it on her own.

*****

"Did you talk to you brother, yet?" Harper asked from behind her.

Good god, she _was _still on that? Alex rolled her eyes tiredly and turned to face her best friend, "No, Harper."

Harper sighed unhappily, "Oh, Alex, I'm afraid if you don't talk to him soon you'll really regret it."

Alex rolled her eyes again and turned back to her locker to slam it shut, "Whatever, Harper. It's not like I'm mad at him or anything, it's just…" she trailed off, catching sight of Justin talking to Zeke across the hall, "Complicated."

"Complicated how?" Harper asked, following her friend's gaze.

Alex shook herself out of her daze, "I don't know, Harper. Look, it's nice and all that you want me to apologize to Justin, but I can't, okay? So drop it."

Harper's face fell in disappointment, "Fine, I'll drop it," she raised a finger and pointed at Alex, an annoyed expression on her face, "But you have something special with Justin and you need to fix it. Soon."

"Whatever."

*****

Would it never end? "Dad, you realize that there are only three of us, right?"

"So? Listen, Alex, and pair up with Justin like I told you," Jerry replied.

She scoffed and scrunched up her brow in frustration, "What about Max?"

"He'll pair up with me."

"But you're our teacher!"

"Alex," Jerry warned.

She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest, "Fine."

She turned to Justin, "So…" she started, trying not to look at him. "Umm, I guess we should—"

"I'll do it, don't worry. Just sit there and paint your nails or something."

"You know I don't paint my nails."

Justin sighed heavily, "I know, because you're too busy biting them. Just, Alex, look, sit there and be pretty. I don't care. Just don't talk to me."

Alex tried to hide the wounded look on her face, but he saw it. Instead of apologizing and pulling her to his side for a hug, he went back to work. Not bothering with any words of comfort.

*****

Alex waited until she was in her room, door shut and locked, music on, before she plopped onto her bed and started to cry. Well, sobbed would be more accurate, she turned her face into her pillow and screamed, trying to release everything that had been building up recently.

God, why couldn't she be normal? Not that she had ever really wanted it before. But now, with _this_ and the whole wizard thing…

"Magic," she whispered to no one. She sat up in her bed, wiped away the tears that were now drying on her face. If she couldn't go to her brother about this, couldn't ask him for any sort of help she could turn to magic, right?

She was, after all, a wizard (maybe not the best, but, when she knew a spell well, she knew it _well_, never had any problem with it.)

There must be some spell out there that she was good at, that she couldn't screw up. That she could use to release these feelings.

She wracked her brain for a moment before it hit her. She scrambled off her bed and searched her room for a blank sketchbook, after a few minutes she found it.

And for the next few hours she devised a story, a whole new world. Just for her and her sick fantasies.

When she was finished she let out a sigh of contentment and she whispered, "_Literarium Terrarium._"

And she vanished.


	5. Chapter IV: I Don’t Want to Hurt You

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Princess Jasmine__: You're not free to make your own choices.  
__Aladdin__: Sometimes you feel so...  
__Princess Jasmine__: You're just...  
__Aladdin, Princess Jasmine__: ...trapped._

**Aladdin**

Chapter Four: I Don't Want to Hurt You, I Don't Want to Make You Sway

She doesn't know how long she stayed in there. That perfect (well, as close to perfect as something could be), safe place that she created for herself.

The Justin that she transferred to paper was so much like her brother. But there was no blood between them. She was free to do _whatever_ she wanted to in her world. Not that she did.

Not tonight, anyway.

*****

She can't sleep. Keeps doing that annoying tossing and turning thing. She supposes it's because she feels bad. About how she's treated her brother. Is it really fair to go off and be happy, do whatever she likes, and leave her brother to dwell in their problem (not that he's aware of it, well, she hopes not anyway).

She gives up after a few more turns in bed, wraps herself in her comforter and leaves her room for Justin's. There's a shallow light escaping from the bottom of his doorway and she's sure he's awake. She knocks gently on the doorframe and a second later he opens the door.

He seems surprised to see her at first, then confused, and finally angry. He crosses his arms and stands defiantly. "Yes?" He asks in a clipped tone.

And she can't take it anymore, as much as she argues with him and rags on him; he's always there for her. He's probably her best friend (not that she'd ever, _ever_ tell him that). Her bottom begins to quiver and she feels the tears well up in her eyes (but she is _not_ going to cry), she looks down and pulls her comforter closer to her body, "I'm sorry," she whispers to her feet.

He makes a noise, she isn't quite sure what it is (a sigh? a defeated groan?) and pulls her body towards his. She lets her blanket fall away and wraps her arms tightly around him. He kisses the top of her head (and she did not get butterflies in her stomach, she did not, her mom's chicken fettuccine always does that to her stomach.)

"I'm sorry, too," he says into her hair a few minutes later with his arms still securely around her torso.

"I missed you," she finally admits, quietly. She feels his cocky grin against her neck where his head is now resting and she sighs, smacking him lightly in the back of the head.

He sarcastically moans in pain, pulling away from her and rubbing his head, "Just so you know, I missed you, too."

She grins, "Of course you did. I'm a very missable person."

He raises an eyebrow, his lips turning upwards slightly, trying to hide his smirk, "Missable?"

She nods assuredly, "Yes. It's a word, Justin."

"No, it's not."

She rolls her eyes, "Yes, it is. I just used it in a sentence, didn't I?"

He rolls his eyes in return, "Whatever, Alex. We're good now?"

She nods her head, "Yup, of course. All better."

He smiles and begins to shut his door. But she stops him quickly, resting the palm of her hand against his door, "Hey, one favor?"

He looks scared for a moment, probably assuming that she's going to ask for something outrageous, and maybe she is. "What?" he asks warily.

"Can I sleep with you tonight? It's just, I can't fall asleep and when we were little you always let me—"

His expression turns stern and he says in a tight voice, "We were kids then, Alex."

She knew he'd react this way, she pouts, "Please, Justin?"(She will resort to hair flipping, if necessary).

He's quiet for a moment before he finally relents (she knew he would, he always gives into Alex Russo. It started when they were kids and they both wanted to be the dad and he always ended being the mom, always. Even after Max came along. "Come on, Justin, he's a baby, he's cute, he has to be our kid." She told him as assuredly as any five year old could.)

She offers him a small smile before gathering her blanket, grabs his hand and leads him to his bed.

It's awkward at first, especially for her but they finally find a comfortable position, her head resting on his shoulder, left arm thrown across his torso. He rests his hand cautiously on the small of her back. His breathing is unsteady for a moment, she isn't sure why, she doesn't ask him, instead kisses his cheek gently and drifts off to sleep.

*****

"You seem happy. Did you do something destructive?" These are the first words Harper says to her on Monday morning.

"Just because I'm smiling doesn't mean I'm up to no good."

Harper raises her eyebrow, eyes widening slightly, "Really?" She asks disbelievingly.

Alex scoffs, "I can be, you know, happy."

"Alex…" Harper starts.

Alex sighs, "Okay, so I may or may not have hidden all of Justin's socks this morning." (He's such a prude, he always has to wear socks with his shoes, claims it's unhygienic not to. He tried to be angry when yelling at her this morning, but she knew he was secretly happy about it.)

Instead of reprimanding her like she normally would, Harper squeals excitedly and claps her hands, "You and Justin made up!"

Alex scrunches up her nose and makes a somewhat disgust face (not that she is grossed out or anything, but hey, most of her actions are just for show nowadays), "Eww, Harper, make it sound like we're dating or something."

Harper's face falls as she replays her own words in her head, "Huh, I guess I did, didn't I?

Alex nods, "Yup, you sure did."

Harper sighs, "Gross, I'm sorry, Alex," she laughs suddenly, clapping her hand on her knee like she's just heard the funniest story, "Like you would ever date anyone like Justin," she finally gasps.

Alex laughs hesitantly, "Yeah, like that would happen."

The warning bell rings and Harper finally sobers, she pats Alex's back and smiles at her oldest friend, "Well, anyway, I'm really happy you and your brother are talking again," she says quickly before running awkwardly towards her class.

"Yeah," Alex sighs, "Me too."

*****

So, maybe she should have just stayed mad at him? Because honestly, being around him constantly, with the hesitant touches that could be caresses and the joking that could be flirting? That's hard.

And it sucks, so bad.

One day it just builds up to the point where she can't take it. He runs a finger down her spine (to tickle her, he insists later after she yells at him), and it does tickle and it feels _good. _Too good. Earlier he kept teasing her about her outfit, insisting it was too revealing, ("for god's sake, I can see your bra strap" he whispers to her in the hall, (breathe hot and moist on her neck), by the bathroom before they leave for school and all this was said with a grin. Like a 'come hither' grin.)

She hasn't been there in a couple of weeks, she felt so guilty after the first time. So she doesn't do it. But after today it's either jump Justin, or jump into her fairy tale.

So she jumps into the latter and tries to hide her disappointment from fake Justin when he greets her.


	6. Chapter V: Oh, I Deserve This Anguish

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Ariel__: I'm sixteen years old - I'm not a child anymore..._

**The Little Mermaid**

Chapter Five: Oh, I Deserve This Anguish on My House

She always feels cheap when she comes back. Like she's done something wrong, which, yeah, she has, but she's never felt quite so guilty about something. She doesn't do guilt.

She tries to brush it off like she does so many other things in her life.

But, of course, it doesn't work.

*****

It's been a month. A month of knots in her stomach, sweaty palms and hitched breaths when Justin is near her. And honestly? Her little safe haven? It does _nothing._ Absolutely nothing. She needs to try harder. Maybe it's time to finally give in? To release her pent up hormones on fake Justin?

*****

"_Literarium Terrarium_," she whispers late one night. She feels a tugging sensation in her abdomen and seconds later she's there.

It's not much, this place she's created. It's a beach and always sunset. She couldn't help it; she went a little crazy with her reds, pinks, and purples that night. But it's beautiful and quiet, except for the waves in the ocean and the constant slight breeze.

Fake Justin is always waiting for her, feet buried in the sand, arms stretched out behind him to support his weight, as he looks out at the sinking sun. She's sure if she took the time to really analyze all this she would tell you that she made her world like this because of Stone and the family trip this summer.

And yeah, she did feel safe with Justin in the jungle and on the beach, felt loved and not quite so scared. But that's what big brothers are for, right?

She lets out a frustrated sigh when she sits next to him, rests her head on his shoulder, "I'm so tired," she whispers.

He doesn't say anything, just wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer.

"I love you," she tells him moments later, she looks up at him, studying his profile, "did you know that?"

He nods, "Yeah, but I'm not the one you _really_ love, am I? I'm a substitute."

She taken aback for a second, damn it, she shouldn't have made him as intelligent or perceptive as her brother, "How do you know?"

"Because every time I try to kiss you, you leave."

She doesn't say anything, just removes herself from his half embrace and goes back to the real world.

*****

"Uh-oh," her mom says later the next morning (a Saturday), "What happened?" She asks, full of panic.

Alex glances up from the batter she's mixing and brushes away a strand of hair that fell into her line of vision, "Nothing," she says slowly, raising an eyebrow before looking back down, "Why would something be wrong?" She's lost her touch; she thinks to herself, she used to be so good at lying.

Theresa brow creases and looks at the clock on the stove behind Alex, "Because it's eleven on a Saturday morning and you are awake." She looks behind Alex again and sees a dozen cupcakes (already frosted) and a dozen cookies resting on the counter, "Oh, honey," she says softly, "What is it?"

Alex sniffles and continues to stir her batter, "I told you mom, it's nothing, and I'm perfectly fine."

Theresa places the bag of groceries she was holding on the floor and envelops Alex in her arms. Alex stiffens for a minute before she's dropping her spoon and squeezing her mom tightly, and she sobs quietly into her mom's shoulder.

"Oh, Alex," her mom murmurs sadly, rubbing comforting circles on her daughter's back, "Shh, it's okay, I've got you. Everything's going to be alright."

*****

Time really seems to be flying by, before she realizes it, they're on Thanksgiving break and she's in the kitchen helping her mother prepare dinner. She's not usually one to help (usually it's Justin, up their mother's butt, constantly asking if she needs help) but since the break down a couple of weeks before, she and her mother are closer than they have been in quite sometime.

Theresa doesn't bother asking what's wrong anymore; she finally got the message after the first week of Alex refusing to tell her what was bothering her. And Alex is more than relieved that her mom has given up and stopped asking, how the hell would that conversation go? "Oh, by the way mom, the other day? When I was crying in the kitchen and baking a shit ton of unhealthy sugary goodness? It's because I want to jump Justin's bones. I do, I just want to pin him down and have my way with him." Yeah, that'd go over well.

"Oh, Justin, you look so handsome!" Juliet squeals from the stairs, fucking _squeals_.

Alex rolls her eyes and continues to mash the potatoes, ignoring the other reason that she's eagerly in the kitchen today assisting her mother.

Justin blushes faintly and settles onto the couch, "Thanks, Juliet." Alex hears the smacking of their lips as they kiss gently on the sofa and tires not to simultaneously vomit all over the clean kitchen floor and burst into a ridiculous fit of tears.

Ugh, she doesn't understand why her mom and dad insisted on inviting Juliet to Thanksgiving dinner. Was she a Russo? No. So she shouldn't be at the flippin' Russo Thanksgiving dinner.

And seriously? If she ever became part of the family? That's it, Alex is done, Amsterdam, here she comes, and she's never coming back. (Unless, you know, Justin asked her to. Not that he would. 'Cause he'd be happily married to Juliet and he's not a sick fuck like her.) Ugh, Alex stomach does a flip and she places a hand over it, "Don't throw up," she whispers to herself.

Juliet laughs at something Justin has just said and Alex looks up and stares at the two of them. Juliet rests comfortably on Justin's lap, arms laced around his neck and he whispers something in her ear. She giggles again and kisses his nose.

Alex stops what she's doing, tears off her apron and stomps up the stairs. She slams the door to her room and heads to her bed, breathing heavily. "Ugh!" She screams to no one and knocks over the lamp on her nightstand. "That bastard!"

And really, he is one. How dare he go from flirting with her and touching her like he has been to being all over that girl downstairs? "God!" She exclaims before sitting on her bed. She glares angrily at her door, daring someone to walk through it. After twenty minutes no one's come and she huffs. Whatever. They can be like that. Let them fawn over Juliet.

Stupid vampire.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. And please continue leaving them. I love to hear what you think and I need all the encouragement to finish this before November. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year and I'm afraid I won't have any time to write fic during that month. So please, push me to write faster and leave more reviews!


	7. Chapter VI: And I Cannot Compete

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Pocahontas__: I can't leave you.  
__John Smith__: You never will. No matter what happens to me, I'll always be with you, forever._

**Pocahontas **

Chapter Six: And I Cannot Compete With You, Jolene

She falls asleep eventually, curled up into a tight ball on her bed. She doesn't know how long she's been asleep, just knows that her room is drastically darker than it was earlier and city lights are now streaming through her window casting miscellaneous shadows across her bedroom. And something else is different; she fells a dip in the bed and looks toward her feet.

"Hey," Justin whispers huskily and she feels his palm on her ankle, his touch feather light.

She knits her brows and tries to form a response but he begins to trace patterns on her ankle, fingertips moving higher and higher up her leg, stopping at her knee before going back to her ankle and repeating the circuit. Her breath hitches, catching his attention but he continues to do it, only this time with his eyes on hers.

She stares at him in return for a few seconds, the air between them tense before she turns away, afraid of what could happen in her small bed. "What?" She asks, injecting as much anger into the question as possible (which is easy to do when she remembers him, hours before, cuddling with Juliet on their sofa.)

He doesn't take any offense though, continues to touch her, he shrugs carelessly and looks back down at her legs, "Mom wouldn't let me come check on you, said it wasn't my business and that I needed to leave you alone. So I waited until she and dad went to bed."

Alex scowls at him, scoots up in her bed until her upper body is supported by her headboard and Justin is no longer touching her. "It's not your business. Mom was right. You should leave me alone."

He lifts a brow, "Really, Alex? You sure about that? I would say it's my business. Wouldn't you?"

She crosses her arms and pouts indignantly, she begins to retort but she can't think of anything biting to say back. "Just leave, alright? I'm tired and I don't want to fight with you right now."

He scoffs, "Fine," he says harshly, removing himself quickly from her bed, he walks briskly to the door (like he's on some goddamn mission, but Jesus, the door is _right_ there) and closes it softly behind him. She rolls her eyes; he always was awful at making an exit.

*****

Juliet is still there when she wakes up the next morning.

Alex sits across from her at the table, with her feet curled up underneath her and her robe haphazardly wrapped around her body (she watches Justin as he looks from his bowl of cereal in front of him to the strap of her tank top that keeps sliding down her shoulder.)

Juliet tries to say something to Justin, calling his name three times before he tears his gaze away from his sister.

Alex hides her victorious smirk in her coffee cup.

*****

She's sketching wood stakes piercing Juliet's delicate skin when Juliet herself appears in her doorway.

"Knock, knock," she says as a way of greeting, smiling at Alex, "can I come in?"

Alex nods, still confused by her brother's girlfriend's sudden appearance in her bedroom, and quickly tosses her sketchbook under her bed.

Juliet settles at the foot of her bed, looking around Alex's room, wrinkling her nose distastefully at the environment around her.

"Oh, good grief," Alex mutters loud enough for Juliet to hear, "they're just clothes. You think this is bad? Go see the toxic waste dump that is Max's room."

Juliet looks taken aback for a second and opens her mouth (probably to apologize, but Alex doesn't play that game), "What do you want?" She asks her.

"Well," Juliet starts, clearly uncomfortable.

Alex rolls her eyes tiredly and motions with her hand for Juliet to spit it out.

"IwantyoutostayawayfromJustin." She says hurriedly.

Alex doesn't comprehend most of it, just barely makes out her brother's name, "Come again?" She says impatiently.

Juliet takes a deep breath, "I want you to stay away from Justin."

Alex scoffs, "Are you kidding me?"

Juliet narrows her eyes, "No," she says a little more forcibly, "You Russos are strange enough but you Alex, you're the worst. And I don't like how you look at my boyfriend. I know you're used to doing things a little out of the norm, but _that_ is _disgusting_." Alex doesn't need clarification, Juliet's tone and appalled look make it clear what she means by 'that'.

Alex tries to arrange her face into the most surprised/horrified expression that she can (it's really not that hard), "Excuse me? I'm not staying away from my brother. I'm allowed to be near him and look at him and joke with him. If you're jealous of our relationship, that's your problem. Maybe you should take some self esteem courses. You obviously need some help feeling good about yourself if you're worried about my relationship with my brother."

Juliet opens her mouth again but Justin comes in, Alex sighs, "Apparently knocking is out. Come on in, Justin!" She exclaims with faux enthusiasm, "We're having a party!"

Justin looks like he's about to smile but catches Juliet's disapproving gaze, "Alex," he replies with a voice devoid of emotion, "Come on Juliet, time for me to take you to home."

Juliet says nothing, removes herself from the bed and moments later Alex hears the two leaving.

*****

She's painting furiously when Justin returns, taking everything out on the easel in front of her. Her iPod pumping out irritated music to aid in her aggression.

She's panting when Justin wraps his arms around her, hands splayed across her stomach. The heat from his palm soothes the anger in her belly, "Shh," he whispers into her ear as he eases both of their bodies to the floor.

She's stiff in his embrace, "It's okay," he tries again this is followed by a kiss beneath her ear, she lets out a shuddering breath, tears coming with it. She leans back into him and adjusts until she's seated comfortably in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"She told me to stay away from you," she says into his neck.

"I know," he replies quietly.

"Why? Why would she do that? I can't do that. Does she know that? I could never be away from you."

"Because she knows, Alex," he finally says, defeat evident in his voice, he kisses her forehead gently and pulls her closer to the safety and warmth of his body, rubs his nose against her cheek, "It's because she knows."

* * *

A/N: You all blow me away. I love you guys, lol. Please, leave a review. Thank you!


	8. Chapter VII: The Match Makers in Heaven

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Peter__: Forget them, Wendy. Forget them all. Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown up things again.  
__Wendy__: Never is an awfully long time._

**Peter Pan**

Chapter Seven: The Match Makers in Heaven, Oh, They've Got a One Track Mind

"What?" She whispers hoarsely, she pulls away from him, her hands falling into her lap, "What do you mean, 'she knows'?"

"Alex," he says gently, using the same tone of voice he used when she was nine and he told her that Santa Clause wasn't really, the tone of voice he uses when he doesn't want to hurt her but knows that the next words out of his mouth probably will.

She frowns, "What?"

He inhales sharply and says, "About us. Juliet knows about us. About, this, well, whatever is going on between us. She noticed as soon as we came back the Caribbean," he pauses for a moment and runs his hand down her arm and entwines their fingers.

Her mouth falls open and she tries denial, shaking her in head in disbelief and pulling away from him again, a little more harshly this time, "I don't know what you mean," she says softly, looking down at her hands. (She really needs to stop biting her nails, they're beyond ridiculous.)

He lets out a frustrated sigh and runs a hand over his face, "Alex," he starts again, "Don't do this, not now. I _know_ that you know. I know why you've been avoiding me, why you stormed off on Thanksgiving. Don't deny it, _please_, I need to know that I'm not crazy."

She remains silent for a few moments, nervously fiddling with her hands, "You're not crazy," she finally says, defeated.

He lets out a shaky breath and reaches for her again, pulling her close until she's nestled in his lap once more. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, nuzzling her neck.

She inhales deeply, his breath on her neck causes goose bumps to rise on skin, and yeah, she knows they probably should talk about, get everything out in the open now, but she's Alex, and she's known to procrastinate, so she's going to do just that. "No," she murmurs and settles more comfortably in his lap.

She feels him smile into her neck, "Okay," he says, and kisses the soft skin of her shoulder.

*****

The next week is weird, not bad, just different, and really, when she thinks about it, it's not really all that different. Maybe she touches him a little more often and their fighting is a little more like flirting, but, it's kind of been like that all along, hasn't it? She just didn't know before, didn't realize it, just assumed it was normal brother/sister behavior (not that's she ever like that with Max, _eww._) That thought makes her snort, catching the attention of her mother, who raises an eyebrow in amusement and smiles at her only daughter.

"Everything alright?" Theresa asks, a small grin still playing at her lips.

Alex purses her lips before another giggle escapes, "Yup," she reassures her mom, "Everything's great."

*****

It's been two weeks, and to be perfectly honest, Alex is frustrated. And really? All she wants to do at the moment is punch Justin in the face. What is he waiting for, a goddamn invitation? Is he that dense? Because she's been using her best stuff, all week. She's batted her eyelashes, flipped her hair, pouted, hell, she even asked him for help with homework. Still, nothing.

Perhaps he's finally realized how fucked up they are? And he's done so he's gone back to treating her like she's his annoying little sister (okay, so she still is).

She stands in front of his door for a second, determined and pissed and ready to give him hell, she raises her fist to knock on his door (and what is wrong with this picture?) before she raps gently on the wood in front of her.

He answers seconds later, his face all serious business and his right hand holding his cell phone to his ear. He waves her in, putting his index finger to his mouth, indicating that she needs to be quiet right now.

She rolls her eyes, her demeanor clearly saying "duh" before she walks to his bed and stretches out on his mattress.

Justin's pacing in front of her, occasionally saying 'yes' or 'no' into the phone and rolling his eyes every so often. So he's having an argument, she surmises, she strains to hear the voice on the other end but doesn't have to because soon enough the person is yelling and she recognizes Juliet's voice.

Uh-oh. This can't be good.

Justin huffs and plops down next to her, "Juliet-," he starts only to be cut off by the vampire. Alex studies her brother worriedly, noticing the crease in his forehead, she grabs his left hand, bringing it to her lap where she begins to rub soothing circles in his palm, the crease disappears and his breathing evens out.

He lets out a groan, "Juliet. Stop. Look, I'm breaking up with you because I want to. I don't want to be with you anymore," Juliet mutters something and Justin's expression changes again, oh no, that's his pissed face, lips tight and eyes wide (she's been on the receiving end of that look more times than she can count), "Stop!" he exclaims quietly, and oh man, is Juliet in for it. "We're done. I'm done." (Okay, so that was a little disappointing, but whatever.)

He hangs up a second later and settles back on the bed. His phone rings but he ignores it, opting instead to place his head in Alex's lap, not that she's complaining.

She's a little shocked for a second, this is the most contact he's initiated in a few days, her hands hover above his head momentarily and she's confused as what to do. But them on the bed? Continue to hold them like that like some idiot? But she does what feels right and runs them gently through his hair. His body relaxes immediately and she lets out a silent sigh of relief and mentally pats herself on her back.

It's not often that Alex Russo does the right thing, but apparently she just did.

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay! Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews and please continue to leave them!


	9. Chapter VIII: All I Ever Really Wanted

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Alice__: Well, after this I should think nothing of falling down stairs._

**Alice in Wonderland**

Chapter Eight: All I Ever Really Wanted, Was a Little Piece of You

"Hey," she calls out, catching his attention, he smiles at her and stands, waiting patiently for her to reach him before offering his hand to her. She grabs it, squeezing it softly.

"Hi," he replies. "You okay?"

She shrugs and pulls him down to sit next to her. He complies, resting close enough to her so their thighs are touching, it's weird, but she goes with it, knowing that what she's about to do is really going to hurt. Probably him a little bit more.

He senses her discomfort and gently grabs her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes (and really, they're beautiful, she doesn't understand how she could have been so captivated by Dean's eyes when these grey ones are so much better). "What is it?"

She shrugs again and leans back, removing her chin from his grasp. "I…I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, Justin. It's wrong."

He stares at her for a minute, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock, tears welling up in eyes, "What? Why?"

She swallows the lump in her throat; she didn't think that _this_ would be so damn hard, "It's just, I'm with someone else now. And I can't, I can't keep coming back here. It isn't fair. To either of you."

"Do you still love me?"

She sighs, placing her hand soothingly on his forearm, "Of course, I do. Justin, don't be stupid. I'll always love you. It's just, I love him more."

He sniffles and quickly looks away from her, hiding his face in his shoulder. "I'm really going to miss you." He finally says, still looking off into the distance.

She harshly wipes away the tears from her own eyes and half laughs, half cries, "I'm going to miss you, too. You really helped me out, do you realize that? No one else could've done for me what you did. And I'll always be so grateful to you for that." She removes her hand, pats his shoulder and rises to her feet.

He remains on the ground, his posture stiff and his gaze, well, she still isn't quite sure what he finds so fascinating about the view before him, yeah, it's beautiful, but it's one she's seen countless times, and to be honest, she can think of something better to stare at. "Are you going to give me a proper goodbye? Or continue to mope?"

He laughs softly before he stands up, wrapping his arms around her lithe frame, "I love you, Alex," he says into her hair. She squeezes him tightly, stands on her tip-toes and kisses his cheek.

"Bye, Justin."

She walks away slowly, the sand making her steps heavy, she turns back one last time to wave and soon after she disappears from sight.

She lands sloppily on her feet when she gets back in her room, she steadies herself on her dresser, taking a deep breath and trying to gain her equilibrium. Well, she sure won't miss that sensation.

The book is on her bed, right where she left it. She stares at it sadly for a second before picking it up, placing it in a glass bowl (seriously, this has bad written all over it. In capital letters) and lights a match, she tosses it in with her notebook and watches as it gradually burns to ash.

Well, Justin broke up with his significant other and she just broke up with hers.

*****

December passes, Christmas cheer leaving with it. And Alex is straight up pissed. Justin has been broken up with Juliet with weeks (which admittedly has been annoying as hell. Not the fact that they broke up, she's overjoyed about that, really, but the fact that Juliet has called daily since? That's a little more than annoying. She wishes the girl would just a clue and leave Justin alone) and still, he hasn't done a damn thing.

Okay, so they went to see a movie and he had his arm around her shoulder and they totally walked around the Upper East Side while holding hands but that's it. Well, other than the flirtatious touches they have shared. Okay, so the fact of the matter is that he hasn't kissed her yet, well, on her lips and she's pissed.

Really, really effin' pissed.

The boy better get his act together.

*****

It's the middle of January when they finally get some alone time. Well, sort of. Their parents are in the Sub Station, Max is at one of friend's and in all technicality they're still _with_ their parents, just safely cooped up together in the lair. They told their parents that Justin was helping her study (which, yeah, they raised their eyebrows, but only for a second, after all, Alex has gotten her act together and has been studying a lot more for wizard's lessons, just usually, she's by herself) and they would be spending most of their Saturday in the lair.

They're parents promise to leave them alone and go back to work.

She claps excitedly when the door is securely shut behind them and she's finally _alone_ with Justin. Maybe now she can get some damn action.

Justin looks at her bemusedly, his right eyebrow raised and she notices with some disdain that he's holding some dusty old tome in his hand. She sighs, ugh, so they really are studying?

"Yes," he guffaws, grinning from ear to ear (she face palms mentally, she really needs to think before she speaks, it's called a filter, she wonders if there is some sort of spell for that, she'll ask Justin later), "What exactly did you think we were going to do?"

She grins naughtily (well, that's what she's going for) and walks over to him, resting her palm on his chest, she feels his heart pick up at the contact and her smile grows. She totally has him now.

"I don't know," she says demurely, running her hand down his torso. "I was kind of hoping you'd, oh I dunno, kiss me."

His eyes are slightly gazed and his breathing is off, "Are you panting?" She laughs, "Oh my god! You are! You are totally pa—"

His lips are on hers and for once she isn't going to complain that he didn't let her finish speaking. He runs his tongue over her bottom lip and she lets out a moan (he's way better at this than she thought he would be) and she feels his lips curl up as he smirks, she pulls away slightly, "Don't do that," she whispers with a smirk of her own, "You're not that good."

But his lips move over hers again and she's rendered speechless for the second time.

Okay, so he totally is_ that_ good.

* * *

A/N: Because you all are amazing :) Please continue to rock my socks off.


	10. Chapter IX: You and Me

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Mrs. Potts: Cheer up child. It'll turn out alright in the end._

**Beauty and the Beast**

Chapter Nine: You and Me Could Write a Bad Romance

In March, Juliet and her family moved away, with that, her phone calls stopped and so did all of the meaningless threats that she had been sending to Alex.

Alex showed Justin the first one when it arrived on Valentine's Day. He rolled his eyes at it and told her to brush it off. Juliet didn't have any proof that anything inappropriate was going on between the siblings. They had always been close anyways (even if Alex never willingly admitted it). So they moved on.

They still fought, they still teased, but things between them were _good._ (Okay, so Alex is a perv and by _good_ she most definitely means that her brother is very willing to let her straddle his lap and make out in the lair. Or make out on his bed, or her bed, or sometimes he sits her on the kitchen cou—you get it).

And yeah, that may make them seem like horny kids that are only going out because they want to mack, but there is way more to their relationship than that. Their relationship is so much more open now, not tense (okay, bad tense) or awkward. There are no secrets between them anymore. And Alex tells him everything now. She has someone to talk to again. Someone that's not going to judge her, someone that will help her out, and someone that loves her no matter what.

And he does. He told her once (alright, he told her so many times that she's lost count). It was the first time a boy had told her that he loved her. Their parents were gone (it's really convenient having a responsible, older brother, parents seem to leave more often because of it) and they were on the couch in the living room, he was studying for an upcoming Calc test and she was busy staring at his profile, her feet in his lap. He let out a frustrated sigh, letting his book fall out of his lap and leaned back against the couch.

She stopped what she was doing (which wasn't hard because her task would involve touching him, which, honestly, was ten times better than just looking at him) and crawled toward him, settling next to his side. She placed her head on his shoulder, grabbed his left hand and interlaced their fingers. He relaxed immediately and she smiled, pleased with his reaction (she really was getting better at being nice to people, okay, being nice to Justin) and brought his hand to her mouth and gently kissed his knuckles.

His lips pulled upward into a grin of his own and he glanced down at her, "I love you," he said matter-of-factly. She blushed prettily and looked down at their hands.

He laughed at her shy expression (one that was rarely seen and mostly by him) and pulled her into his lap, kissing her flushed cheeks and then pecking the corner of her mouth. "Come on, say it," he said teasingly, "I know you want, too. Don't be shy. It's easy. Three little syllables…"

She giggled and leaned forward, kissing him softly, "I love you, too. And just so you know, that was four."

He chuckled and pulled away, his own cheeks red and a huge grin plastered on his face, "That's my girl."

*****

It was surprisingly easy to keep a secret in the Russo household, well, that's what Justin said. She turned away to roll her eyes, well, duh, it was easy, she had known this for years, but she didn't say that to him. They may be dating or whatever, but he was still Justin and she was still his rebellious little sister and he was still prone to tattle on her (although it was becoming a much rarer occurrence, as it was becoming increasingly easier for her to get him to do what she wanted).

*****

May was hard. It was getting closer and closer to Justin's high school graduation and she wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to them when he left for college.

Would he still want her? Was she one last fling before high school ended? She shook her head at the thought and tried to focus on the English assignment that rest on her lap (ugh, homework in late May, what the hell were her teachers smoking?) Justin wasn't like that. He didn't date girls just to date them. He dated them because he genuinely cared about them. And he was constantly showing and saying that he loved her. So, she shouldn't doubt him, right? The whole situation was just hard.

She hated the idea of being alone again. She spent those months in the fall by herself, with no one to really talk to; she was always confused and scared. And she really hadn't missed those feelings and now with Justin's impending departure they were hitting her full force once again.

There was a knock on her door then, one she recognized and sure enough, seconds later, Justin was walking into her room. "Hey," he said happily, a smile on his face (he was so content now, much more _free, _apparently she wasn't the only one that had been holding everything in).

She tried to return it and smiled weakly at him as he settled on the bed next to her. She glanced at the watch on his wrist, slightly surprised to see that it was well after eleven. "Hey," she responded quietly.

He picked up the book resting in her lap, eyes quickly scanning the title, "_The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm," _he read, he grinned, "is this homework or for fun?"

She gave him a look, one eyebrow cocked in disbelief, "Me reading for fun?"

He chuckled, "Touché. But in all fairness, you loved this when you were kid. I used to read it to you all the time."

She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember, "Really?" She shook her head sadly, "I don't remember that."

"Well, I did, and you loved it. So, you are studying fairy tales?"

She rolled her eyes and snorted, "Yeah, not sure why though." She sighed, "It's all ridiculous anyways. Lord knows fairy tales aren't real. I mean, look at us." She laughed mockingly, "If fairy tales were real we certainly wouldn't be siblings. You wouldn't be my 'prince charming'."

He grimaced, his countenance turning somber, "What's wrong, Alex?"

She shrugged and moved away from his body, "Nothing."

His face fell, "Yes, there is. Tell me." He moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her to his body.

She sniffled and refused to look at him, because goddamn, now she was crying and this isn't her at all. She wasn't the girl to get all whiny and annoying because her boyfriend was leaving in the fall. "I just, I'm really going to miss you. I'm going to miss being _with _you. Wow, never thought I would say that."

He chuckled softly, pushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her jaw softly, "Alex," he whispered, "I'm going to miss you, too. But I'm only going to NYU, you can talk to me every day, come see me every weekend," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she giggled despite herself. "Everything will work out," he reassured her.

"Promise?" She asked, hating how her voice was anxious and sounded so small.

He nodded and kissed her gently on the lips, "I promise."

And that would have to work for now.

* * *

A/N: Happy Halloween! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews! Seriously, you don't know how excited I am when my phone goes off and I find a review from you. Seriously, makes my day. Just wanted to let you know that just the epilogue is left. No, I'm not cutting this short for NaNoWriMo. This was always going to be short. This was my attempt to be light and fluffy, lol, not sure if that worked. And because I love you (and it's quite possible that I'm insane) I've started a new Jalex fic that I will start posting in the next couple of days. Let me know what you think! And have a safe holiday!


	11. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

_Flora__: Why Fauna, what's the matter, dear?  
__Fauna__: Oh... I just love happy endings_

**Sleeping Beauty**

Epilogue: I'm Just a Little Girl Lost in the Moment

_One Year Later_

She walked briskly down the crowded street, not paying much attention to those around her or the disapproving looks she may have received from a small amount of people.

She was running late. Which, usually, she wouldn't have minded all that much, but we're talking about being late for something that was important, something that she was most definitely looking forward to. She glanced down at the watch on her wrist (a Christmas present from Justin. She rolled her eyes playfully when she unwrapped it, go figure that for their first Christmas as a couple he buys her a damn watch. Luckily his gifts for Valentine's Day and her birthday were much better). She sighed, realizing that she was even later than she had originally thought.

He was so not going to be happy about this. Ugh, whatever. Really, it was their dad's fault. She kept trying to tell him that she was running late, that she had plans later in the day. But he brushed her off with a wave of his hand and insisted that she stay a little later and work, things at the Sub Station were much harder nowadays with Justin gone. She had tried to talk her parents into hiring some extra help but they reminded her of the time she convinced them to hire Harper and looked out that turned out (so, maybe they had a point. But they would certainly have to hire someone come fall when she too would be leaving for NYU).

After a few more minutes (of jogging, unfortunately, she would have been times later had she continued to walk) she found him. His back was to her and he was staring impatiently at the building in front of him.

She wrapped her right arm around his body, standing on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek lightly, "Sorry, I had to work late."

He relaxed slightly the moment she touched him, his stance becoming less tense, he smiled down at her, "It's okay, just call next time, okay? I was worried."He brushed his lips on her jaw and let out a relieved sigh.

She smiled contently when his hot breath caressed her neck, and nodded. "I promise, I'll call next time."

"Good," he bent down and properly kissed her on the lips for a moment before pulling away and reaching down to intertwine their hands. "Now come on, I want to show you something."

She tugged on his hand, forcing him to stop, he gave her a confused look, "What?"

She grinned, "I love you," she said happily.

His lips curved upward and he pulled her to him once more, leaning down until their foreheads touched, he pecked her lips, once, twice before replying, "I love you, too. Now, come on, I really do want to show you something."

She rolled her eyes but continued smiling, "Lead the way."

And he did.

_-fin-_

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_A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews! All of you are so awesome, really. I have posted a soundtrack for _Run_ on my livejournal (my homepage on my profile) so please go check it out. You can download the whole thing in a rar or you can download individual tracks. But please, please, please leave a comment there if you are doing so. If enough people respond to it, I'll make a another one for _Little Girl Lost_. Again, thank you so much! I hope most of you will read _Ghost _after this. Okay, done rambling and pimping myself now.


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